Job Satisfaction and Subjective Well-Being As Determinants of Job Adaptation

An important controversy in the literature on employee withdrawal/adaptation concerns whether job satisfaction predicts behaviors that are manifestations of this construct. Although the area has not lacked for empirical research, Hulin (1991) has argued that several unresolved issues have limited the generalizations we can make about the role of job satisfaction in influencing isolated work behaviors. Hulin (1991) hypothesized that there is a general construct underlying many adaptive behaviors, including job withdrawal. When this general construct is assessed through combination of individual behaviors, the ability of constructs such as job satisfaction to influence job adaptation was hypothesized to increase over the prediction of specific behaviors. In the present study, individual behaviors thought to represent the adaptation construct were obtained through three different sources of data. Job satisfaction, subjective well-being, and other variables were hypothesized to influence the adaptation construct within the framework of a causal model. Results indicated support for both the job adaptation construct and its relation to job satisfaction and subjective well-being

Job Satisfaction as a Reflection of Disposition: A Multiple Source Casual Analysis

Dispositional sources of job satisfaction have been the subject of recent research in the organizational sciences. Problems in much of this research, which limit the conclusions one can draw from the results, are discussed. This study makes a distinction between affective disposition, defined as the tendency to respond generally to the environment in an affect-based manner, and subjective well-being, the level of overall happiness and satisfaction an individual has with his or her life. Affective disposition was hypothesized to lead to subjective well-being, and subjective well-being and job satisfaction were hypothesized to be mutually causative. A causal model was tested employing two different sources of data: self-reports and significant other evaluations. This biangulation of sources of data and estimation of nonrecursive relationships removes some problems often assumed to plague results based on single source data. Results indicated support for the overall hypothesized causal model and supported a dispositional influence on job attitudes. The influences are more complex than past research has suggested

Myxomatous mitral valve degeneration: biochemical aspects and physiopathological considerations

peer reviewedMitral valve is a complex structure which is submitted to repeated mechanical constraints. In clinical practice, an increasing incidence of mitral insufficiency resulting from myxomatous degeneration is observed. Since myxomatous degeneration is also observed in defined genetic diseases of connective tissues, we propose the hypothesis that idiopathic mitral insufficiency might result from a minor alteration of the interstitial valvular cells and/or their interactions with their support. After a brief review of the role of the extracellular matrix in the heart, some histopathological and biochemical aspects of myxomatous degeneration are presented. Our data and those of the literature will be summarized and a physiopathological hypothesis proposed for myxomatous mitral valve degeneration

Dietary exposure to pesticide residues and associated health risks in infants and young children – Results of the French infant total diet study

A total diet study (TDS) was undertaken to estimate the chronic dietary exposure to pesticide residues and health risks for the French infants and young children below 3 years old. As a whole, 516 pesticides and metabolites were analysed in 309 food composite samples including 219 manufactured baby foods and 90 common foods, which cover 97% of infants and young children's diet. These composite samples were prepared using 5,484 food products purchased during all seasons from 2011 to 2012 and processed as consumed. Pesticide residues were detected in 67% of the samples and quantified in 27% of the baby food samples and in 60% of the common foods. Seventy-eight different pesticides were detected and 37 of these quantified at levels ranging from 0.02 to 594 µg/kg. The most frequently detected pesticides (greater than 5% samples) were (1) the fungicides 2-phenylphenol, azoxystrobin, boscalid, captan and its metabolite tetrahydrophthalimide, carbendazim, cyprodinil, difenoconazole, dodine, imazalil, metalaxyl, tebuconazole, thiabendazole, (2) the insecticides acetamiprid, pirimiphos-methyl and thiacloprid, (3) the herbicide metribuzin and (4) the synergist piperonyl butoxide. Dietary intakes were estimated for each of the 705 individuals studied and for 431 pesticides incl. 281 with a toxicological reference value (TRV). In the lower-bound scenario, which tends to underestimate the exposure, the TRV were never exceeded. In the upper-bound scenario that overestimates exposure, the estimated intakes exceeded the TRV for dieldrin and lindane (two persistent organic pollutants) and propylene thiourea, a metabolite of propineb. For these three substances, more sensitive analyses are needed to refine the assessment. For 17 other detected and/or prioritised pesticides, the risk could not be characterised due to the lack of a valid TRV, of certain food analyses or the absence of analytical standards for their metabolites. Keywords: Food safety, Infants and young children, Pesticide residues, Total diet study, Exposure assessment, Risk characterizatio

A novel protamine variant reversal of heparin anticoagulation in human blood in vitro

AbstractPurpose: Protamine reversal of heparin anticoagulation during cardiovascular surgery may cause severe hypotension and pulmonary hypertension. A novel protamine variant, [+18RGD], has been developed that effectively reverses heparin anticoagulation without toxicity in canine experiments. Heretofore, human studies have not been undertaken. This investigation hypothesized that [+18RGD] would effectively reverse heparin anticoagulation of human blood in vitro. Methods: Fifty patients who underwent anticoagulation therapy during vascular surgery had blood sampled at baseline and 30 minutes after receiving heparin (150 IU/kg). Activated clotting times were used to define specific quantities of [+18RGD] or protamine necessary to completely reverse heparin anticoagulation in the blood sample of each patient. These defined amounts of [+18RGD] or protamine were then administered to the heparinized blood samples, and percent reversals of activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin clotting time, and antifactor Xa/IIa levels were determined. In addition, platelet aggregation assays, as well as platelet and white blood cell counts were performed. Results: [+18RGD] and protamine were equivalent in reversing heparin as assessed by thrombin clotting time, antifactor Xa, antifactor IIa levels, and white blood cell changes. [+18RGD], when compared with protamine, was superior in this regard, as assessed by activated partial thromboplastin time (94.5 ± 1.0 vs 86.5 ± 1.3%δ, respectively; p < 0.001) and platelet declines (–3.9 ± 2.9 vs –12.8 ± 3.4 per mm3, respectively; p = 0.048). Platelet aggregation was also decreased for [+18RGD] compared with protamine (23.6 ± 1.5 vs 28.5 ± 1.9%, respectively; p = 0.048). Conclusions: [+18RGD] was as effective as protamine for in vitro reversal of heparin anticoagulation by most coagulation assays, was statistically more effective at reversal than protamine by aPTT assay, and was associated with lesser platelet reductions than protamine. [+18RGD], if less toxic than protamine in human beings, would allow for effective clinical reversal of heparin anticoagulation. (J Vasc Surg 1997;26:1043-8.

Maternal Exposure to Nitrogen Dioxide during Pregnancy and Offspring Birth Weight: Comparison of Two Exposure Models

International audienceThe two exposure models tended to give consistent results in terms of association with birth weight, despite the moderate concordance between exposure estimates